Etro's Champion
by Uncolored186
Summary: Alternate Reality. He begged Etro not to make Lightning as her champion after the fall of Cocoon and offered himself instead. One-shot


**Etro's Champion**

...xXx...

Years of research had come to a conclusion. From what he had found in the Paddra Ruins, Serah was bound to die because of Etro's gift to see the future. One didn't need to be a genius to know where that would end. It would become a never ending cycle of sadness and sorrow for Lightning. Of course, none of that would happen if he could help it. And so, he begged. He begged Etro not to make Lightning as her champion after the fall of Cocoon and offered himself instead.

For weeks, Etro was silent, and he almost gave up that the Goddess of Death and Chaos would not hear his plea.

One day, Etro visited him in his dream by using Lightning's form. He had a hard time reminding himself that the form before his eyes was not the real Lightning. Still, the objective was served. Etro agreed to take him under her wing as her champion for eternity. All of his loved ones would only guess that he had turned into crystal along with Fang and Vanille. Despite knowing this, he accepted the role. Through his willingness, Etro granted peace to Gran Pulse and Cocoon. There would be no time gates and no paradoxes. As for Caius, Etro had realised her mistake to give one man too much power. She had tasked him to defeat Caius once and for all.

After everything was said and agreed, the exchange began without delay.

Lightning was undoubtedly shocked and confused when she saw him appear at Valhalla through Etro's gate. "Hope?"

Hope wasted not a moment and reached forward to hug her tightly, not even concerned that the spiky part of her armour was hurting him. "I miss you so much, Light."

It had been a long time since she had contact with another human. She felt strange but comforted as well. What she couldn't explain was the blush that had taken over her cheeks after hearing his confession. As if knowing how that statement would embarrass her, Hope pulled away and looked at her flushed face. Without warning, he leaned down to capture her lips in his. A gasp of surprise from Lightning made a good opportunity for him to deepen the kiss. For the first few seconds, she was unresponsive, but soon, she kissed him back. Both exchanged deep kisses until they were breathless.

Foreheads pressed against each other, he confessed, "I love you, Light."

He opened his green eyes to look into her blue ones. "I love you. Always have and always will."

Seeing his solemn expression was enough to snap her out of her dazed state, but she was not fast enough as he pushed her to the edge where, unknown to her, a time gate was already waiting for her. At first, she was angry that he would do something like that. Falling down, she was about to summon Odin only to realise the strength Etro had blessed her with was diminishing. Before her very eyes, Hope's academy uniform changed into full body armour of black and silver. In that second, realisation dawned on her.

"No!" Her eyes filled with fear and panic. "You can't do this! Hope!"

It was too late to do anything. The last thing she heard before she was swallowed up by the time gate was "Always have and always will."

...xXx...

Sitting down on the peer, Lightning contemplated her life so far. Everything was as it was supposed to be, but she couldn't help but feel she was missing something. Her eyes were once again drawn to the crystal pillar that held Cocoon. It had been five years after the fall. Despite what everyone else believed, she still couldn't accept the fact that Hope had turned into crystal along with Fang and Vanille. For some unknown reason, it just didn't feel right.

One would call her crazy, but as the day passed by, she could hear his voice. It had started just recently. The dream never stopped making her blush every time she remembered it. In her dream, they were kissing, and oddly, he was not in his 14-year-old body. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't remember what they were wearing and where they were. It was his love confession that rang clearer and clearer as time went on.

 _"I love you. Always have and always will."_

"Lightning!"

Lightning resisted the urge to sigh as she had no doubt Serah was trying to pair her off with some new guy again. Her younger sister was always worried that she would remain single for the rest of her life. It was not because she didn't want to have a family of her own, though. She just didn't feel up for it. If she could be honest with herself, she would say someone, namely Hope Estheim, from her dream already held her heart. Although she only dreamt the same thing night after night, her heart seemed to love the idea of being his.

Turning to the approaching figure of her beloved sister, she asked, "What is it?"

Still trying to regulate her breath, she quickly explained, "I forgot to let you know that Hope's dad, Bartholomew, is inviting us to Yaschas Massif. He said he needed to show us something."

Lightning frowned. "When?"

Serah smiled at her sheepishly. "His academy escorts will arrive here in a few minutes."

Lightning resisted the urge to sigh at her sister's forgetfulness. She nodded. "All right. I'll get ready now."

True to Serah's words, the escorts arrived not long after she was done putting on her guardian corps uniform. Even after the fall, the guardian corps was still around, but it was strictly more for the safety of those who chose Gran Pulse as their new home. The journey to Yaschas Massif was spent in silence. Besides Fang, Vanille and Hope, they were all together.

Bartholomew greeted them with grateful smiles. "Thank you for coming. I just have to show this to all of you, who had done a lot for Cocoon."

Long story short, the Academy had found Oracle Drive, a device that was used long ago by the seers of Paddra to record prophecies of the future. They were all shocked when they saw Lightning fighting a guy who they later found out as Caius, but that was not the end of their shock as they saw the appearance of a silver-haired man in academy uniform. They all witnessed the kisses they shared, and it would have embarrassed Lightning if not for the end where Hope pushed Lightning into some sort of gate before turning to face Caius in full body armour.

The second the vision was over, memories she didn't know she had, flashed at the forefront of her mind. Closing her eyes, she heard a panicked cry from Serah as she slowly collapsed from where she stood. Tears were already coursing down her face when she opened her eyes. Apparently, Snow had caught her falling form as he supported her from behind. Everyone looked at her with worried eyes. She closed her eyes tightly, unable to look at them any longer.

"I'm so sorry," she said before breaking down. She now remembered it was because of her that Hope became Etro's champion.

Neither of them were sure of what to say or do as this was the first time they all saw the strong-headed Lightning break down.

...xXx...

In the privacy of the tent that was set up by the Academy, the group stayed for a few days to discuss what they saw in the Oracle Drive. Although many were shocked after Lightning confirmed that the silver-haired man was indeed Hope, they had a more pressing matter. Yesterday, they had seen another prophecy of Cocoon falling down. They all tried to think of a solution to at least reduce the fatality.

It was during their second day discussion in the main ramp that they had a visitor.

Lightning stood up immediately as soon as she saw the sudden appearance of Etro's gate while the others watched on in awe. She felt her heart might burst any moment as she hoped and prayed. Lo and behold, her prayer was answered as Hope, in his armour, stepped into their timeline.

Everyone's breaths hitched.

Hope didn't think he would see his friends again, but Etro had tasked him to guide the people of Cocoon for a better future since he had defeated Caius three years prior. He gazed at his friends, lingering on his father before finally settling his gaze on the one woman he had ever, and still, loved. Moments later, Lightning stepped forward. He saw it coming but did nothing to stop it.

The slap echoed around them and successfully broke everyone's trance state.

Despite not feeling anything from her slap, being immortal and all, he still felt bad for hurting Lightning. Nevertheless, he would not apologise. He was pretty sure that she would have done the same thing if their position was reversed.

"I'm not sorry."

Lightning looked away before sitting down again. "I know."

It went without saying that they would continue their conversation later. After a short reunion with the rest of ex-l'cie, Hope explained his purpose in their timeline. By the end of the day, they all agreed to show the prophecies to the people of Cocoon in hope they would cooperate to migrate to Gran Pulse for good. The idea of building another Cocoon had come up, but Hope had pointed out they were better off living on steady ground than facing a possibility of falling down from the sky in the future, again. To move that many people, they might not have enough human resources to defend new territories for everyone, but that was where Hope came in. He would set up a barrier that would need to be reinforced every decade.

After the discussion was over, Hope took Lightning aside.

They both were sitting on a small hill, looking over the vast land of Gran Pulse. After a while, Lightning finally turned to Hope. Feeling her eyes on him, he turned his gaze on her as well. They stared at each of other for a long while. He was hesitant but determined to take the risk of getting another slap as he slowly raised his hand to cup her face lovingly.

"I missed you so much, Light."

She didn't know why but tears started welling up in her eyes.

Panicky, he begged her to stop crying and asked what he could do to make her feel better.

Tears running down her eyes, she shook her head. When she looked at his mournful face, she decided that actions would speak louder than words. She leaned up and pressed her lips against his. He appeared to be shocked, of course, but he quickly followed her example by kissing her back, more deeply than their kisses in Valhalla. Once the kisses ended, she found herself in his arms. His presence brought the peace she so desperately needed ever since the fall of Cocoon.

They both dreaded the time where he would have to leave for Valhalla once again, but they both spoke no words about it, determined to spend as much time as possible together.

...xXx...

Cocoon was almost thrown into chaos when the people learned about the prophecies. It was during this time that Hope, with the goddess's permission, revealed himself as Etro's champion. Since he had been the director of the Academy before his current role, it helped Hope ease the worries of the people. Slowly, people began to agree moving down to Gran Pulse for good. Hope then left all the evacuation plans to his father and the Academy members. His role was only to set up the barrier and nothing more.

The group returned to New Bodhum after all the plans were discussed and agreed. NORA was tasked to help, as much as they could, with the newcomers. And now, they were having a get-together before the hard work ahead began because Hope had done his task for the barrier.

Hope stood up, drawing everyone's attention. Many had been in disbelief that he was the same young, scared boy they met years ago. "I would like to say thank you to all of you for your willingness to help. It's such a short time, but I am happy to see everyone here, taking care of each other."

Everyone's expression turned forlorn as they realised what was coming next. He gave them a small sad smile. "As you can probably guess, this is my last night, but don't worry though, I will definitely come back ten years from now if you guys are willing to have me."

As expected, everyone assured him that he would always be welcomed as he was part of their family. It was just like what Vanille said years ago, everyone in Pulse were family.

By the end of the gathering, Hope spent his last few hours with Lightning in her room, cuddling.

"Love me," she whispered softly.

"Always have and always will, Light," he replied, hugging her close.

She pulled away and looked up at him. "I want you to _love_ me this night." _Make me yours and you mine._

His eyes widened when he realised the implication of her request. He looked unsure for a moment. "Is that what you want, Light?"

"I don't know when it started, but I have always..." She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. "I love you, Hope."

A loving smile graced his lips. "I love you so much, Light, but I can't possibly do something that will leave—"

"I wish to have it. I want a part of you, with me, for the next ten years."

That was the end of their conversation as they let their instincts do what they both wanted, joined as one in body, heart and mind.

As the sun began to rise, they both sadly let go of each other. They put their clothes back on and met everyone who already gathered by the peer to see him off. Each of the ex-l'cie was giving him a tight hug. Lastly, Hope turned to Lightning. Despite her indifferent face, everyone knew she was the most hurt of them all.

Pulling Light into a tight hug, Hope whispered softly only for her ears, "Take good care of yourself and our little one."

Her mask finally cracked as tears gathered in her eyes. "We will wait for you."

They shared one last searing kiss before Etro's gate appeared. They slowly let go of each other. Just before entering the gate, he said, quite clear for everyone to hear, "I love you, Light. Always have and always will."

...xXx...

Ten years later, the people of Cocoon had settled down on Grand Pulse without any major trouble. The last evacuation was just last week, and now, Cocoon was nothing more than an empty shell. At the moment, a lot of people had gathered by the peer. Most of them were eager to see Etro's champion again. Hope had become somewhat a hero for them all. As for the former l'cies, they had been doing and aged well. Snow and Serah had an 8-year-old daughter named Summer while she had a boy named Hope. She received many positive responses when she told everyone her son's name. She didn't think she could name him with any other name when her son was just that, a hope for her. He was the proof that the man she loved existed. Moreover, he was a copy carbon of his father down to his silver hair and green eyes.

Hope Junior, also known as Junior, standing beside her, tightened his grip on her hand when Etro's gate appeared before their eyes. There was a sudden hush as everyone witnessed such a mementos sight with awe. Soon, they saw Hope step into their timeline just like ten years ago.

Needlessly to say, Snow stepped forward and gave the guardian an enthusiast, tight one-arm hug. "Finally! Welcome home, Hope!"

Hope smiled. "It's good to be home, Snow." His gaze immediately settled on Lightning and his son. The crowd didn't seem to bother him at all. It was more like he ignored them all.

Snow ushered everyone to Lebreau's for a celebration, knowing it was time for Hope to have a moment with his family.

Blue clashed with green.

"Light."

Junior gently released her mother's hand, and she flew straight into the arms of a man who he was told his father. For a time, he had come to hate his father for choosing duty over him and his mother. His grandfather and the others always shared stories about his father, but he just couldn't accept that his father was a kind, brave and responsible man. Now, however, after seeing his father for the first time, he finally understood that his father took his duty and responsibility seriously. More importantly, he kept his promise to return and here he was.

Soon, father and son eyed one another.

The ageless champion stepped closer to the son he had watched over ever since he was born. To be honest, he was a bit worried about his son's reaction for being absent most of his life.

Junior looked at his father, who had bent down until they were eye level. Clenching his fists, he bravely saluted, "Father."

A smile was all Junior could see on his father's face before he was pulled into his father's arms while minding his armour. "My beloved son."

It wasn't long before his young mind caught up that his father was really here, hugging him. He burst into tears even after his father hoisted him up and was joined by his mother in group hug. They all were laughing while crying.

Everyone who watched such a heart-warming reunion from the sidelines had tears in their eyes, and some, streaming down their faces.

That day, everyone celebrated Hope's homecoming. Everyone had dreaded the thought of him leaving again after his task was done, but surprisingly, Hope gave them unexpected, but happy news.

"Goddess Etro is awake. It wouldn't have been possible if the people didn't worship her."

"You mean..." Snow trailed off. He knew that ever since Hope's public appearance in Cocoon, many had started worshipping Goddess Etro for her kindness and guidance.

"Yes, because of the people who believed in Goddess Etro, she has recovered from the damage that was caused by Chaos. This is my last task as her champion. Once I reinforce the barrier, I can stay."

"For good?" Lightning whispered hopefully.

Hope smiled. "For good."

Needlessly to say, they all had a rather big group hug. Everyone cheered ever more happily than before as one of their family members had finally returned to them.

The next day, many had gathered nearby the barrier. It was obvious they all wanted to see what Hope would do to the barrier. The Grand Pulse News even recorded it so it could be shared widely later on.

Hope stepped closer to the edge of the barrier and reached forward to touch the somewhat invisible barrier. Everyone went ooh's and aah's when the barrier became visible upon Hope's touch. Its colour was just like that of rainbow but less vibrant. The champion closed his eyes and soon, the hands that connected to the barrier began to glow brighter and brighter until everyone had to shield their eyes from the light.

Once the light dimmed, they opened their eyes and gasped. Aside from the colour of the barrier that became vibrant, everyone was shocked to see Hope knelt down on one knee with a bow. They soon understood why when a soft light in human form appeared before them. Everyone followed Hope's example and a soft voice that soothed everyone heart travelled to their ears, "You have done well, Hope Estheim, my chosen champion."

Neither could see what Goddess Etro looked like as she was surrounded by light, but they all could still see how she put her hand on Hope's left shoulder. In that moment, they all witnessed Hope's armour dissolving into the wind, and he was left with his Academy uniform. His appearance seemed to be older than a minute before.

Goddess Etro took a step back before passing her last words, "Any daughter born from your bloodline shall have the power to reinforce the barrier from now on."

With that said, Etro left with a flash of light and in her place, there were two familiar crystal figures. They all watched with bated breath as the crystal slowly transformed back into very much alive and breathing Fang and Vanille. The two Pulsian women had no time to get their bearings as they both were engulfed by all of the former l'cie. Finally, the entire family was united.

A year later, Hope held his daughter, who was blessed with Etro's power, for the first time. Her name was Faith, and she was barely 9 years old when she, with the help of Etro's spirit, reinforced the barrier for the first time. After all the sadness, pain and suffering, the ex-l'cie group finally had their happy ending with their destined person. Estheim's line never died out and the story of Hope Estheim, as the famous Etro's champion, with his wife Lightning Farron and the rest of former l'cies were passed down from generation to generation.

 **The End**

 **Thanks for reading. Reviews are much appreciated.**


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